The five elements --ether, air, fire, water, and earth-- are the vesture
of God, as well as of man. Use them moderately and with wisdom, with fear
and humility. Their characteristics, for which they are sought after, are
sound of the sky (representing ether), touch of wind, form of fire, taste
of water, and smell of earth. Even these, sounds and others, have to be
moderate if they are to confer comfort. Sathya Sai Baba, Sathya
Sai Speaks VI, Chapter 27, 124.
Sai Ram, Sai Devotees in America!
Swami has designated 1995 as the year of service. In light of this,
the American Sai Organization is embarking on a long-range program called
The Earth - Help Ever Hurt Never. We hope all will join us wholeheartedly
in this venture, with love, devotion, and as much excitement for it as
we have.
Why this program? Sathya Sai Baba has said that man is polluting the
earth. The five elements are the vesture of God, says Swami, and we must
use them moderately, with wisdom, fear, and humility. This program will
help us all gain more appreciation for the beauty and splendor of God's
Creation. As we become more aware of what Swami says about the Earth, and
as we begin to understand the truth about the Earth, right action toward
the Earth will follow automatically. Much of this right action concerns
Ceiling on Desires, since reducing our desires will reduce the waste that
we create. We expect to begin seeing service to the Earth as a spiritual
exercise, just as selfless service to God in other people is a spiritual
exercise.
To start this program, we have developed a spiritual
presentation on serving the Earth. Ask your service coordinator study
it, discuss it with whoever is in charge of study circles, and help prepare
and conduct this presentation in the Center.
Several times in 1995, we will pass out descriptions of projects
of service to the Earth that individuals and Centers might take on. This
part of the program will take several years, for there are many different
approaches to serving the Earth (not all of them applicable in each Center
and for each devotee). We will discuss ways to
- Reduce our consumption (Ceiling on Desires!),
- Reuse what we have,
- Repair what we have, and
- Recycle what we cannot reuse or repair.
After discussing a newly disseminated project, an individual and a Center
can decide whether it applies to them and if so, put it into practice.
We need your help! We need ideas for reducing/reusing/repairing/recycling.
We want to know what you think of the program, so that we can change it
to fit your needs and expectations. After all, the sole purpose of the
Sai Organization is to serve you, the individual devotee, in your march
along the spiritual path.
The Earth - Help Ever Hurt Never is not expected to detract from
other service projects. Many projects will be of an individual nature.
Few will be Center projects that require a large commitment of time each
week or month, and these can be accepted by those who want to. It is more
our awareness of the Earth, our consciousness, that will change.
This program will be presented to Swami at the 70th Birthday. Please
keep this in mind as you present the spiritual programs and carry out service
projects; you may want to keep photographic records of your work.
Sai Story
During the 60th birthday celebration, when talking about ceiling on desires,
Swami said that many devotees had assuaged their consciences by giving
money to charitable and humanitarian organizations, without undertaking
the personal discipline of reducing waste in their lives, which was the
primary reason for the Ceiling on Desires program.
Sai Story
During the 69th birthday celebration, in public, Swami told the prime minister
of India that there were two things he had to do: stop water pollution
and stop the killing of animals.
Projects in The Earth - Help Ever Hurt
Never
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